SOLVED: iPhone won’t play text message alerts when hooked to Bluetooth in the car

Okay, so this isn’t really an iPhone development issue per se, but it was driving me crazy nonetheless. When I get into my car, my iPhone automatically connects to the car’s Bluetooth and all calls/music play through the car’s speakers. This is great except for text message alerts: since they’re so short, apparently the delay opening the Bluetooth link causes them to basically not get played at all. Now I could disable Bluetooth completely on my phone but that seems like overkill, and I like the hands-free calling experience it provides. What I needed was a quick way to toggle the iPhone’s speaker connection from my car to itself, and I finally found it!

Step 1: When in your car and connected to Bluetooth, while your phone is locked, press the Home Button twice quickly. You should see the screen below:

WARNING: Do NOT text and drive! I have provided this tip only so you can remain informed when text messages are received: it’s up to YOU to follow the law and wait for an appropriate time to respond. Be safe, everyone!